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The Nasdaq powered to a fresh record and major European markets closed in the green Wednesday, brushing off US President Donald Trump’s growing array of tariff targets.After releasing tariff warning letters to seven additional countries early Wednesday afternoon, Trump followed up late in the afternoon with a threatened 50 percent levy on Brazil.Trump tied the …

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US President Donald Trump announced a 50 percent tariff Wednesday targeting Brazil as he blasted the trial of the country’s ex-leader, while widening a push to secure more bilateral trade deals with other partners.In a letter addressed to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Trump criticized the treatment of Jair Bolsonaro as an “international disgrace,” …

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Hamas on Wednesday said it would release 10 hostages as part of Gaza ceasefire talks after Israel struck an upbeat note about the prospects for a deal to stop the fighting in the embattled Palestinian territory.The Islamist group’s statement came after four days of indirect talks brokered by Qatar and as the United States signalled its belief that agreement for a 60-day truce would be struck before the end of the week.US special envoy Steve Witkoff said part of the deal would be the return of 10 living hostages held by militants since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war.Of 251 hostages seized during the assault on Israeli border communities near Gaza, 49 are still held in the territory, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.In its statement, Hamas said key hurdles remained in the talks, notably the free flow of aid into Gaza, Israeli military withdrawal from the territory and “real guarantees” for a lasting peace.But it added: “The movement displayed the required flexibility and agreed to release 10 prisoners (hostages).”Despite the difficulty of negotiations over these issues until now due to the intransigence of the occupation, we continue to work seriously and with a positive spirit with the mediators to overcome the hurdles and end the suffering of our people and ensure their aspirations to freedom, safety and a dignified life.”Israel earlier appeared to fall in behind US President Donald Trump and his optimism for an end to the conflict, as the talks in Doha stretched into a fourth day with reported complaints on its stance on aid.Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir said in a televised address that military action had prepared the ground for a deal that would bring home the Israeli hostages.Netanyahu, who after talks with Trump in Washington on Tuesday night was still uncompromising in his determination to crush Hamas, said he believed an agreement was on the horizon.”I think we’re getting closer to a deal,” he told FOX Business Network’s Mornings with Maria programme. “There’s a good chance that we’ll have it.”Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also said he thought a temporary deal was “achievable” and could even herald talks for a more lasting peace, while President Isaac Herzog talked of “a historic opportunity” for change.”We are in an era of tectonic shifts, where the global balance of power and the regional strategic landscape are being reshaped,” Herzog said.”We must not miss this moment.”- ‘Mostly listening’ -Netanyahu is insistent he wants to permanently neutralise the threat to Israel from Hamas.But he is under increasing pressure at home and abroad to end the war, particularly as the death toll of soldiers killed by homemade bombs and ambushes in Gaza increases.The military announced on Wednesday another soldier had been killed in combat in Gaza.Hamas has vowed “Gaza will not surrender”.One Palestinian source familiar with the negotiations in Doha said the Israeli delegation was “mostly listening rather than negotiating, which reflects Netanyahu’s ongoing policy of obstruction and sabotaging any potential agreement”.The militant group had previously rebuffed pressure to release all the hostages, demanding an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel wants to ensure militants in Gaza never again threaten its security.Qatari mediators had warned on Tuesday it would take time to seal a deal.- ‘Like an earthquake’ -On the ground, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Wednesday 26 people were killed in Israeli strikes, at least six of them children.”The explosion was massive, like an earthquake,” said Zuhair Judeh, 40, who witnessed one of the strikes, which prompted frantic scenes as people scrabbled in the rubble for survivors.”The bodies and remains of the martyrs were scattered,” he added, calling it “a horrific massacre”.In response to an AFP request for comment on a strike on the Al-Shati camp near Gaza City, the Israeli military said it “struck a number of Hamas terrorists”.Due to restrictions imposed on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties accessing the area, AFP is unable to independently verify the death tolls and details shared by the parties involved.Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,680 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.

Starbucks has received around 30 offers from investment firms seeking a stake in the company’s China business, US media reported Wednesday.The coffee chain’s China business, its second biggest after its US operation, drew non-binding offers from a mix of Chinese and foreign private equity firms valuing the enterprise at between $5 and $10 billion, CNBC …

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday announced Washington was sanctioning the United Nations special expert on the Palestinian territories, following her criticism of Washington policy on Gaza.”Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt (International Criminal Court) action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives,” Rubio said on social media.In a subsequent statement he slammed the UN expert’s strident criticism of the United States and said she recommended to the ICC that arrest warrants be issued targeting Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Rubio also attacked her for “biased and malicious activities,” and accused her of having “spewed unabashed antisemitism (and) support for terrorism.”He said she escalated her contempt for the United States by writing “threatening letters” to several US companies, making what Rubio called unfounded accusations and recommending the ICC pursue prosecutions of the companies and their executives.”We will not tolerate these campaigns of political and economic warfare, which threaten our national interests and sovereignty,” Rubio said.While Albanese was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, she does not speak on behalf of the United Nations itself.The Italy-born expert released a damning report earlier this month denouncing companies she said “profited from the Israeli economy of illegal occupation, apartheid, and now genocide” in the occupied Palestinian territories.The report provoked a furious response from Israel, while some of the named companies also raised objections.Albanese has leveled broadsides against the policies of Israel in Gaza, and of US President Donald Trump, particularly the plan he announced in February to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its residents elsewhere.That proposal faced a rejection from Palestinians, Middle East leaders and the United Nations.Albanese dismissed it as “utter nonsense” and an “international crime” that will sow panic.”It’s unlawful, immoral and… completely irresponsible because it will make the regional crisis even worse,” she said on February 5 during a visit to Copenhagen.US ally Israel on Wednesday commended Rubio’s action against the rapporteur.”Albanese has consistently undermined the credibility of the UN Human Rights Council by promoting false narratives and pushing for illegitimate legal actions that ignore the realities on the ground,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed responsibility Wednesday for the deadly sinking of a merchant vessel earlier this week, their second attack in 24 hours as they resumed their campaign against Red Sea shipping.The Eternity C, a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, was badly damaged in the attack that started on Monday and continued into Tuesday, when the ship sank.Yemen’s rebels claimed responsibility for the attack, which came a day after they boarded and sank the Magic Seas — their first attack on merchant shipping this year.Their resumed attacks mark the end of a months-long lull and threaten a May ceasefire with the United States that ended weeks of strikes on Huthi targets.”The naval force of the Yemeni Armed Forces targeted the ship Eternity C,” Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said, claiming that the vessel was headed for the Israeli port of Eilat and was attacked in support of Palestinians in Gaza.- 19 missing -Saree said the attack was carried out with an unmanned vessel and six cruise and ballistic missiles.He said the Huthis had “moved to rescue a number of the ship’s crew, provide them with medical care and transport them to a safe location”.But the US embassy accused the rebels of kidnapping those crew members who had not been rescued by Western navies.”After killing their shipmates, sinking their ship and hampering rescue efforts, the Huthi terrorists have kidnapped many surviving crew members of the Eternity C,” said the mission, which operates out of a temporary base in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.”We call for their immediate and unconditional safe release,” it added in a post on X.Operation Aspides — the EU naval task force in the Red Sea — told AFP that five Filipinos and one Indian had been rescued, while 19 others were still missing.The UN envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, expressed “grave concern” over attacks that resulted in “civilian loss of life and casualties as well as the potential for environmental damage”.”Yemen must not be drawn deeper into regional crises that threaten to unravel the already extremely fragile situation in the country,” he said.On Tuesday, Aspides said three people were killed in the attack on the Eternity C and at least two wounded — including a Russian electrician who lost a leg.- ‘Cease aggression’ -Saree warned “all companies dealing with the ports of occupied Palestine (Israel) that their ships and crews will be targeted” until Israel has been forced to “lift the siege on our brothers in Gaza, cease the aggression against them and end the ongoing war”.The Huthis began their attacks on Red Sea shipping in late 2023, saying they were in support of Palestinians in Gaza.On Monday, they said they hit the Magic Seas because its owner had done business with Israel and used its ports.The rebels released a video showing masked gunmen storming the Magic Seas and simultaneous explosions that scuttled the bulk carrier.Both ships had likely been attacked “due to prior Israeli port calls or ownership/ship manager affiliations”, according to the Joint Maritime Information Centre, run by Western navies.Huthi attacks have prompted many shipping firms to make the time-consuming detour around the southern tip of Africa to avoid the Red Sea, which normally carries about 12 percent of global trade.The Huthis had threatened to renew their attacks after the Gaza ceasefire collapsed in March, prompting a deadly US bombing campaign against the rebels that ended with the May ceasefire.However, the rebels said they would continue to target “Israeli ships”.In a statement on Tuesday, the US embassy blamed the Huthis for the Eternity C attack, calling it “the most violent” yet.Israel, which has also come under direct missile and drone attack by the Huthis, has carried out multiple strikes on rebel targets in Yemen, most recently on Sunday.